“Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden and an ongoing target for conservatives, has a memoir coming out April 6. The book is called ‘Beautiful Things’ and will center on the younger Biden’s well publicized struggles with substance abuse, according to Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. Acquired in the fall of 2019, ‘Beautiful Things’ was kept under wraps even as Biden’s business dealings became a fixation of then-President Donald Trump and others during the election and his finances a matter of investigation by the Justice Department.”

“‘Beautiful Things’ was circulated among several authors and includes advance praise from Stephen King, Dave Eggers and Anne Lamott. ‘In his harrowing and compulsively readable memoir, Hunter Biden proves again that anybody – even the son of a United States President – can take a ride on the pink horse down nightmare alley,’ King writes in his blurb. ‘Biden remembers it all and tells it all with a bravery that is both heartbreaking and quite gorgeous. He starts with a question: Where’s Hunter? The answer is he’s in this book, the good, the bad, and the beautiful'” – AP.

US News and World Report: “Republicans who control the Arizona Senate are moving ahead with their threat to pass a contempt resolution finding Maricopa County has failed to comply with a subpoena demanding access to elections equipment and ballots cast in the November election. The Senate Rules committee plans to meet Wednesday afternoon to start the procedure for introducing the resolution. Timing on a full Senate vote is unclear. If the resolution passes, board members could be jailed for failing to comply.”

“The Republican-dominated board on Tuesday again refused to comply with subpoenas GOP lawmakers issued as they try to show that fraud or other election misdeeds led to Democratic President Joe Biden’s win in the state. Courts rejected eight lawsuits filed by backers of former President Donald Trump after his loss, finding there was no evidence that he did not lose. The Senate has demanded access to voting machines and all 2.1 million ballots cast in the election. The board has said it can’t comply because ballots are sealed by law and the voting machines the Senate wants to examine need to remain secure. Board Chairman Jack Sellers said Wednesday he was frustrated that the Senate was threatening to find the board in contempt, saying he met personally with Senate President Karen Fann and thought both sides agreed to try to settle the issue. ‘I want to be clear: the county will participate in any court hearing with the Senate if they plan to argue the restrictions on ballots should be waived,’ Sellers said. ‘Instead of suggesting that we are violating the laws the Legislature wrote, they should turn their attention to finding a solution.'”

“Two weeks into a new administration, a majority of Americans say they have at least some confidence in President Joe Biden and his ability to manage the myriad crises facing the nation, including the raging coronavirus pandemic. Overall, 61% approve of Biden’s handling of his job in his first days in office, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Though the bulk of Biden’s support is from fellow Democrats, about a quarter of Republicans say they approve of his early days in office.”

“Even at a moment of deep national divisions, those numbers suggest Biden, as with most of his recent predecessors, may enjoy something of a honeymoon period. Nearly all modern presidents have had approval ratings averaging 55% or higher over their first three months in office, according to Gallup polling. There was one exception: Donald Trump, whose approval rating never surpassed 50% in Gallup polls, even at the start of his presidency” – AP.

Daily Beast: “House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) claimed on Wednesday that he did not know what QAnon was, let alone how to pronounce it. But in an interview with Fox News last August he specifically said there is ‘no place for QAnon in the Republican Party’ when discussing Marjorie Taylor Greene’s run for Congress.”

Speaking to reporters Wednesday after a closed-door House Republican conference meeting, McCarthy defended Rep. Greene (R-GA), telling them, ‘I think it would be helpful if you could hear exactly what she told all of us. Denouncing Q-on, I don’t know if I say it right, I don’t even know what it is – any from the shootings, she said she knew nothing about lasers, all of the different things that have been brought up about her.’ Six months earlier, however, McCarthy answered a question from Fox News’ Shannon Bream about Greene’s pro-QAnon rhetoric by saying, “Let me be very clear. There is no place for QAnon in the Republican Party. I do not support it and the candidate you talked about has denounced it.” He had no issue pronouncing the name of the outlandish conspiracy-spreading cult at that time.

“House Republicans will be forced to go on the record, defending or rebuking Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has drawn bipartisan condemnation over her embrace of far-right conspiracy theories, as well as her past endorsement of violence against Democrats. The politically agonizing vote expected Thursday, which will determine whether the Georgia Republican is stripped of her committee assignments, underscores tension over the best political path forward that has riven the party since Donald Trump lost the White House.”

“Democrats issued an ultimatum earlier in the week, telling House Republicans to strip Greene of her committee assignments – or they would. Bipartisan pressure built after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called Greene’s ‘loony lies’ a ‘cancer’ for the party. But House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on Wednesday ruled out taking action. Instead, he accused Democrats of a ‘partisan power grab’ for targeting Greene, who once suggested that a Jewish-owned financial firm may have been involved in a plot to spark California wildfires using a space laser” – AP.

Madison.com: “A failure to provide an updated address led the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office on Wednesday to seek an increase in Kyle Rittenhouse’s bond. However, Rittenhouse’s defense team – led by Racine attorney Mark Richards – is arguing that the ‘Safe House’ where the teen is staying should not be disclosed for his own safety, citing threats made against him.”

After the Republican caucus declined to censure QAnon Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene because many questionably claimed they don’t know what QAnon is, Republican Arizona Congressman Andy Biggs, a fellow conspiracy theorist who joined Congress after winning Publishers Clearing House, told Sean Hannity that he was pushing to remove Democratic Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar from her committee seats because…. something something “cancel culture.”

Greene is likely to be removed from her committee assignment in a likely partisan vote for virulently anti-Semitic, anti-reality statements.  The Republican inaction on Greene is a ploy to play partisan politics in the House, while claiming an aggrieved status.

https://youtu.be/5QgoKfxwcbw

Troublesome country music star Morgan Wallen has seen rapid repercussions after a video surfaced where he uses the n-word while during loud outdoor conversation with friends while he was returning home apparently after a night of drinking, the Washington Post reports.

The reaction to the video was swift.  Wallen’s record label, the independent Nashville group Big Loud, has suspended him, and his new album has been pulled from promotions on Apple iTunes and his songs have been removed from Spotify and Apple Tunes.  Wallen’s were removed from rotation on stations owned by Cumulus Media and iHeartMedia, the two largest operators of country music stations in the nation, as well as SiriusXM stations and its Pandora streaming service.

The video, uncovered on TMZ, was filmed by a neighbor of Wallen’s who was apparently annoyed with the noise Wallen and his friends were making late at night after returning from an evening of drinking.  Wallen is plainly heard using the n-word when talking loudly with his friends.

The House Republican Caucus voted to keep Liz Cheney, the sole member of Congress from Wyoming, in her position as House Republican Conference Chair, the third highest position in the caucus, despite Cheney voting to impeach Donald Trump earlier this month, reports Politico..

The vote, done by secret ballot, was 145-61, not a close vote despite the pressure from the Trumplican wing of the Party to punish Cheney for voting her conscience to defend the Constitution during Trump’s impeachment for incitement of insurrection following the January 6th domestic terrorist attack at the Capitol.

During the caucus meeting, described as tense at times by people in the room, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told the group that he wanted “to keep this leadership team together.”

An Ohio grand jury indicted former Columbus police officer Adam Coy for murder for the December 22nd shooting death of Andre’ Hill, a 47-year-old unarmed Black man who was leaving a friend’s house, WBNS CBS-10 reports.

Coy and his partner were responding to a call from a neighbor who claimed someone was starting and turning off a car engine repeatedly.  They spotted Hill leaving a friend’s home while he was holding his smartphone in his hand.

Coy ordered Hill to raise his hands as Hill walked around a parked car.  Hill took two steps toward the officers when Coy drew his weapon and fired, according to footage recovered from Coy’s body cam “look-back” feature.  Coy had shut off his body cam before the confrontation, but the look back feature automatically records what happened for 60 seconds before the unit is turned on.  

“Source tells me that roughly half the House GOP conference gave Marjorie Taylor Greene a standing ovation after she rose to speak a few min ago.”  –Cameron Joseph of ViceNews

Republican Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert wrote herself two checks totalling more than $22,000 to compensate herself for mileage driven during the 2020 campaign despite the fact that she held only one public event from April through July, the Denver Post reports.

At the IRS-maximum allowed reimbursement of 57.5¢ per mile, that means Boebert would have had to travel nearly 39,000 miles on campaign business.  Her predecessor in office, Republican Scott Tipton, had mileage reimbursement of just $9,575 during his entire ten-years in office.

“This highly unusual amount of mileage expenses raises red flags and the campaign should feel obligated to provide answers,” Kedric Payne, a former investigator for the Office of Congressional Ethics, an independent body in Congress that examines misconduct allegations, told the Denver Post.

“The House on Wednesday night approved a budget resolution that would allow the chamber to advance a coronavirus relief package through the reconciliation process, which would allow Democrats in the Senate to pass the measure with a simple majority vote.

“The House voted 218-212 to approve the measure, effectively a party line vote, with Republicans voting against the measure that instructs committees to begin crafting the relief legislation.

“The Senate is expected to approve its version of the resolution on Thursday, advancing the process to pass COVID-19 relief without Republicans following Biden’s recent meeting with GOP senators over their slimmed-down relief proposal.” –ABC News

The self-declared “sergeant-at-arms” of the Seattle Proud Boys group became the latest one arrested in the January 6th domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol that left five dead, USA Today reports.

Ethan Nordean, who is also known as by his online moniker Rufio Panman, was charged with obstructing Congress, aiding and abetting and entering restricted grounds as part the mob that breached the Capitol building.

Nordean is the six known member of the Proud Boys to be arrested in the Capitol attack.  To date, more than 180 people have been charged in federal courts in relation to the coup attempt.

“Parler has terminated CEO John Matze, according to a memo Matze sent to staffers that has been obtained by Fox News. ‘On January 29, 2021, the Parler board controlled by Rebekah Mercer decided to immediately terminate my position as CEO of Parler. I did not participate in this decision,’ Matze wrote. ‘I understand that those who now control the company have made some communications to employees and other third parties that have unfortunately created confusion and prompted me to make this public statement'” – Fox Business.

Cassidy Williams, Fox 6: “Kenosha DA says Kyle Rittenhouse has violated bond. Court documents say detectives went to the address listed and found he no longer lives there. Rittenhouse posted $2 million bond in November, accused of shooting and killing 2 people during Kenosha unrest.”

“From The Motion: ‘It is important to note that the $2 million came from a dubious Internet fundraising campaign, and the defendant and his family did not post any money toward that bond. As a result, the defendant is free from custody with minimal incentive to comply. Indeed, the defendant has already demonstrated his carefree attitude by going to a bar immediately after his arraignment on January 5, 2021 and drinking 3 beers in the company of known ‘Proud Boys’ while flashing white supremacist signs and wearing a ‘Free as F*ck” shirt. Rarely does our community see accused murderers roaming about freely. As a result, the defendant’s bond requires him to update the Court in writing within 48 hours of any change of address or telephone number.'”

After having met with Marjorie Taylor Greene (Q-GA), House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy issued a statement blaming Democrats for failing “to lower the temperature and address these concerns” about the QAnon conspiracist’s advocation of violence and threats.

Claiming, without evidence, that QAnon conspiracies do not reflect the views of the Republican caucus, the California Republican said he told Greene that as a member of Congress, “we have a responsibility to hold ourselves to a higher standard.”

“I understand that Marjorie’s comments have caused deep wounds to many and as a result, I offered Majority Leader Hoyer a path to lower the temperature and address these concerns. Instead of coming together to do that, the Democrats are choosing to raise the temperature by taking the unprecedented step to further their partisan power grab regarding the committee assignments of the other party.”

The Department of Justice is considering using a statute passed to prosecute organized crime outfits against the groups that planned the January 6th domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol, Reuters reports.

RICO, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, is used to prosecute people and groups involved in organized crime activities like murder, kidnapping, bribery and money laundering.  Prosecutors can also seek to seize assets and property that was used in crimes or obtained through racketeering.

Two sources–one currently in the DoJ and another who recently left the Department–told Reuters that the assessment of applying the law is still ongoing.  No decision has yet been made regarding if the elements of RICO have been met.